Random and intentional acts of kindness

[Team Chaos]

What a beautiful thread! One random act of kindness I received that I think of so often was this: I had my little girl, about 2 at the time, and my grandmother (who is blind and has had several strokes, so impulse control is really an issue for her) at a busy store on a Saturday (something I tried to avoid at all costs, but so it goes) we were working through the list and I was attempting to keep Gram and kiddo from getting run over by carts, wandering too far etc. Of course, I didn't have the right shopping list and was short on cash, so I was trying to whittle it down while Gram filled the cart up as fast as I could empty it. Suffice to say, it was a stressful situation and I was trying to smile through it. We finally made it to the cash registers and my Gram took my daughter's hand and headed for the door without me! I panicked and left my cart apologizing to the cashier- I was so scared that one or both of them were going to get smooshed by a car or lost in the lot! I caught up with them and negotiated that they would wait in the car while I went in to pay- when I turned around, there was a young man carrying our bags. His mom put her arms around me and told me that she had cared for her grandmother and her own young sons and had remembered what a miracle it was to get through a day with a smile on her face. She said seeing us reminded her of all the good times that were there, under the errands and to-do lists, and how much comfort the memory brought her.. she bought our groceries, which was incredibly nice, but that hug and that reassurance that the every day is the sacred meant so so so much to me!

 

[Lady Henevere]

Team Choaos, that is an awesome story.

I came across this the other day and thought it would be good to mention here. It's something to think about for those of you with plenty of land.
http://coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com/
I can't seem to make the link go to a particular post. The entry I'm referring to is November 12. Here's an excerpt:

So this spring the family will be sharing their property with an inner city group of their congregation, and feeding them for free. Folks who will be eating off the farm are welcomed to come weed and hoe if they want, but they are not obligated to. In a modern world where people buy land, mow it, fence it, and do nothing with it but tell others they can't even step foot on it, the Daughtons are using the small acreage they have to feed people without soil. They are doing it because they can.... Talk about living your faith...

 

[Beekissed]

What a beautiful thread! One random act of kindness I received that I think of so often was this: I had my little girl, about 2 at the time, and my grandmother (who is blind and has had several strokes, so impulse control is really an issue for her) at a busy store on a Saturday (something I tried to avoid at all costs, but so it goes) we were working through the list and I was attempting to keep Gram and kiddo from getting run over by carts, wandering too far etc. Of course, I didn't have the right shopping list and was short on cash, so I was trying to whittle it down while Gram filled the cart up as fast as I could empty it. Suffice to say, it was a stressful situation and I was trying to smile through it. We finally made it to the cash registers and my Gram took my daughter's hand and headed for the door without me! I panicked and left my cart apologizing to the cashier- I was so scared that one or both of them were going to get smooshed by a car or lost in the lot! I caught up with them and negotiated that they would wait in the car while I went in to pay- when I turned around, there was a young man carrying our bags. His mom put her arms around me and told me that she had cared for her grandmother and her own young sons and had remembered what a miracle it was to get through a day with a smile on her face. She said seeing us reminded her of all the good times that were there, under the errands and to-do lists, and how much comfort the memory brought her.. she bought our groceries, which was incredibly nice, but that hug and that reassurance that the every day is the sacred meant so so so much to me!

This one made me cry also! In a good way.....

Why is it that I like to read these kind of stories? I LOVE them and they make me cry like a baby! It's almost like getting a big hug from God to hear how kindness from out of the blue can touch someone's life.

 

[Denim Deb]

All of the acts that people have been listing have been big acts. But, just remember, people appreciate the small acts too. How many of us have shopped in a store where they don't have automatic doors, and have held the door opened for someone else-especially for someone that would have trouble w/it because they're pushing a stroller, or a full cart or whatever?

 

[Beekissed]

From the time my boys could open a door on their own, I used to take them to town, singly, and have a "boy's day out". This consisted of us going out to eat, to a store, to a movie, etc. and all the while the boy was learning how to treat a woman....he was instructed to open the door of the car, open the door of the store, order at the restaurant and thank the waitress properly...and he was also given money so that he could pay the bill. The boys always seemed so proud!

We always had enormous fun on these outings and that training has lasted all their lives...they still rush to open doors for people, particularly women, they are extremely polite, and they charm the ladies with their solicitude!

It's the little things in life, like you mentioned, Deb, that paints the whole picture of who a person really is....each act of each day, be it little or big, shows us the fiber of our life.

 

[Marianne]

Oh my, I wish I would have looked at this thread much sooner.

I have always believed that there are angels among us, and I met some a few years back.

DH and I met a gal that had a mental illness. She was living in a horrible place, run by horrible, mean spirited people. She was quite able to live on her own mentally, just lacked funds to get out of that place. So, we got her into an apartment, bought gobs of used stuff, furniture, kitchen stuff, some new stuff and some groceries to get her started. Not like we could afford it, ya know?

First set of angels - my kids. The holidays were right around the corner. Our friend now had cervical cancer and I was taking her from doctor to doctor, clinic to clinic, treatments, on and on. She was a very large woman with hardly any clothes, no winter coat, no shoes other than flip flops, wading through the slush to get to my car. It just broke my heart. Independently, the kids all told me not to buy them anything for Christmas, to use the money to buy our friend some clothes.

Next angel - the store clerk. So I'm looking all over, trying to find clothes large enough to fit this gal, when an older store clerk came over to assist. After I picked out the things I was going to buy, she excused herself, came back a couple minutes later with another store clerk. The first one handed her credit card to the other one to pay for everything I had picked up - over $200!! She had me come back the next day and gave me a big bag of all kinds of things for our friend - socks, mittens, a scarf, crossword puzzle book, little purse with makeup, soaps, lotion...all wrapped up with Christmas paper.

Next angel - The following day our friend had a radiation treatment. I was sitting in a room with all the usual people, the ones who also had people having treatments, or having treatments themselves. I told those wonderful people about the store clerk 'angel'. As my friend and I were leaving, she kind of slipped out of her flip flops. I said that we needed to get her some better shoes. A man that was there, stood up, grabbed his wallet and said that he wanted to pay for part of her shoes and handed me $30. What a blessing! Her shoes ended up being $100 but with all the help from the angels, it was affordable.

She died a couple years ago. She never knew how much of an impact she had on me, and how much I learned from her. I will always remember the look on her face as she slowly unwrapped all those presents, cherishing each thing that was given to her by people she didn't know. Random and intentional acts of kindness - something that she hadn't experienced in years, I'm sure.

Looking back on the experience, maybe she was an angel, too.

 

[snapshot]

About 8 years ago we had our first flat tire in the motor home in the middle of nowhere, WY. No place to pull off the road. About an 1/8 mile up the road was a turnaround on the left side of road and DH turned into it. We sat for a moment and then went back and opened the door on the passenger side. First thing we saw was a huge sign saying "God will provide". It was a sign for a Christian school but as soon as we saw it, we knew we would be fine. No cell phone service there so we unhooked the van and I drove 10 miles back to a restaurant to call roadside service. They let me use the phone and kept me in coffee for a while til the details were straight. Gentleman from the service drove 75 miles to bring another tire-I said it was the middle of nowhere. When he started working, he realized someone from his shop had taken the tip of the airhose and he had to drive all the way back to get it. They charged us for nothing but the tire. God even sent a dog to hang out us while we waited. We had our house with us so we had lunch and relaxed in the shade with our dog. The dog left when the service showed back up to finish the job. We just had a sense of calm throughout the whole incident! That was such a large number of kindnesses to us in one day and we know God was behind them all!

 

[Denim Deb]

Snapshot, your story reminds me of something we had happen to us.

Several years ago, we went w/some friends to Hershey Park. Since they had a motor home and we had a pop up, the plan was to pull the pop up w/the motor home, and camp up there for the weekend. Normally, it's a 3 hour trip. We were on the PA turnpike when the motor home blew a tire. We weren't too far from a rest stop, so we drove there and the guys changed the tire. We get back on the road-and blew another tire. We were near an exit, and even though I told them that there was no place at that exit to get the tire fixed, the guys insisted on exiting the turnpike. They asked the toll taker where they could go. Of course, he told them to get back on the turnpike and go to the next exit. (I knew this exit cuz I used to get off it to take my son to summer camp. )

We get off the next exit and found the tire place. It was right near a school, so we took the kids over to the playground. They put all new tires on the motor home. We get back on the road and are finally able to get up near where we're going. Now we're sitting at a red light and someone pulls up next to us and tells us we have a flat on the pop up! We're right by a gas station, so we pull in. By this time, it's starting to rain. We had no spare for the pop up, so they just tried to pump up the tire. After all, we were almost to the campground. The tire blew! I called AAA. They couldn't help us. At this point in time, I don't know what to do. We don't know where we are. There's a tire store right there-but it was already closed for the evening. It's dark, it's raining, and we have 3 hungry kids-one of whom was autistic. (Friend's son) Just then, a guy pulls up in a pick up. It said something on the side about trailer service. I almost tackled the guy. (He said I scared him) He just happened to have a tire that was a good enough fit for the pop up. Plus, he was the one the campground called for any trailer problems, so he knew where we were going. He lent us the tire, didn't charge us anything, and picked up it the next day. Our 3 hour trip took 10 hours, and 3 flat tires!

 

[snapshot]

Think it may have taken us about the same amt. of time. Between Lusk and Douglas on a state rd. there is not much around!

 

[Florezian]

Well I was on the bus on my way off campus today and the whole experience just made my heart swell.

There is a regular; a woman dressed in nun-type clothing. (I don't know the proper term). Anyway, she was running late to the stop and the bus driver caught a glimpse of her and her 4 kids briskly going through the mall stop. Still a bit aways, but he decided to wait 5 minutes for them to get to the bus and load. Even though, he was already a bit behind schedule and not even completely sure if they were getting on yet.

So shes struggling to get one of the kids out of the stroller, and a person offers her their seat so she can work on the stroller. The two middle kids are standing (bus was super crowded) and the mother tells them no way can they stay standing. Two separate people move their belongings and help them find a seat. Meanwhile an older man grabs the stroller while the mom takes the kid out. Bus starts forward and the older man with the stroller jolts foward a bit, I reached to grab the back of his shirt but by then the second major jolt threw him almost to his face. Two young men bear hugged him and saved him from falling. Both were of other races that are so stereotyped and discriminated against in my area. It was an immediate reaction, one kid even dropped his textbook to get the man.

Afterwards the guy was saying it had been such a weird feeling.... to feel himself falling and then being held up. He was convinced he was going down, yet the guys were so quick to grab him, even he didnt expect it.

It is so troubling when people view "bus people" as these dirty, moraless bums, when really that isn't the case at all.